Stay Independent at Every Age

July 3, 2018

In honor of Independence Day, Legacy Senior Living shares tips to help older adults stay independent at every age.

Maintaining independence is important to adults of any age, including seniors. Having the ability to manage a household, come and go as you please, and remain self-sufficient is something older adults often cite as their goal for retirement.

What can seniors do to protect their independence?

As we celebrate Independence Day and our nation’s birth, we have a few tips you and the seniors in your life may find helpful for remaining independent.

Checklist of Tips to Help Seniors Stay Independent

Here are a few suggestions you can use to stay safe, healthy, and independent during retirement:

Conduct a safety audit of the home or hire a physical or occupational therapist to do so. Creating a safe environment can help you avoid disabling falls and other hazards that might be lurking in your home.

Make exercise a priority. Physical fitness is one of the keys to a long, healthy, and independent life. Walking, swimming, practicing chair yoga, and biking are all low-impact forms of exercise. Also try to work strength training in a few days a week. Go4Life, a senior fitness program from the National Institute on Aging at NIH, has great resources to help you get started.

Follow your doctor’s orders. Whether it is scheduling routine health screenings, like a mammogram or cholesterol test, or a mandate to work on lowering your stress level, listening to your physician is important for protecting independence.

Stay engaged with your social network and greater community. Isolation is a known health risk for older adults. It can lead to diabetes, depression, obesity, and more. You can maintain your health and your independence by staying socially connected. It could be by volunteering, joining a club, taking a class, or just regularly spending time with family and friends.

Nurturing the spirit also helps older adults maintain independence. That doesn’t have to mean being part of a religious organization. Some seniors find communing with nature through hobbies, such as bird-watching or gardening, keeps them connected with their spirit.

Give your brain an aerobic workout every day. Hobbies like arts, crafts, and music promote cognitive health. Taking classes, reading, writing, and exploring new challenges do as well. By keeping your brain healthy, you can live a more independent lifestyle longer.